


i promise

by justsomejerk



Series: Tumblr Prompts [4]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Canon Disabled Character, Forest and Steph (Mentioned), Former FWB Jenna/Kyle, Friends to Lovers, Jenna Cameron (Mentioned) - Freeform, M/M, Mentions of Sex, Saucy Text Messages, Snowed In, The Manes-Valenti Cabin, Written Pre-S2, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:20:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21788932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justsomejerk/pseuds/justsomejerk
Summary: Kyle and Alex get snowed in at the cabin, and Alex accidentally reads some texts on Kyle's phone that cause the night to take an unexpected turn.
Relationships: Alex Manes/Kyle Valenti
Series: Tumblr Prompts [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1542472
Comments: 11
Kudos: 66





	i promise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lusblim4](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lusblim4/gifts).



> Day 12 of the Roswell Advent Prompts: Snowed In. 
> 
> For Lubs.
> 
> Unbeta'd.

They only realize the storm has picked up once it's too late. They'd spent the afternoon down in the bunker, moving furniture and hanging mirrors and artwork. Once they'd finally disbanded Project Shepherd, Alex decided the murder basement needed to go as well. He and Kyle got most of the redesign input from Rosa - the only other person to spend a considerable amount of time down there. 

When Kyle and Alex finally emerge up into the cabin, they can't even see Kyle's SUV parked in the driveway through the raging snow. 

"I guess you get the pleasure of me sleeping on your couch yet again." Kyle gives him a self-consciously charming smile and Alex simply rolls his eyes. He leans down to open the trunk sitting beside the recently-purchased pull-out couch and drapes the sheets, blankets and pillow on the back of the couch for later. 

Kyle is already at the fridge rifling through his shelves. Alex takes a moment to watch him opening cupboards to find the snacks he'd left half-eaten a few days ago, and realizes with a start Kyle is the only person in his life who moves around Alex’s space with such ease and familiarity. 

It's been a weird year. Since Caulfield, two people in his life have literally risen from the dead, he experienced the unsurprisingly sharp sting of watching his best friend and ex try to fall in love and fail, witnessed the death of his father, grew apart from the people he trusted most and found a new circle of friends in Kyle, Isobel and Rosa. 

"Where the hell did this sake come from?" Kyle is holding the half-full bottle up, his nose wrinkled in disgust. “You refused to try this with me when we went to that Japanese restaurant in Santa Fe!”

Alex can feel himself blush slightly. “Oh. I just- I saw it at the liquor store and thought I’d try something new.” When Kyle shrugs and put it back in the fridge, trading it for a couple beers, Alex knows he doesn’t have to continue, and usually wouldn’t, but he does anyway. “Forest told me I should be more adventurous. That I didn’t go out of my comfort zone enough. I guess sometimes I still think about that. He was right.”

“You should never think about anything that guy told you. He clearly didn’t know the first thing about you.” Kyle scoffs as he hands Alex a beer.

“He knew enough.”

Kyle rolls his eyes, leans back against the kitchen counter and crosses his arms. The muscles of his upper arms strain against the thin t-shirt he’s wearing as he continues talking. “No, Alex. He was _so_ critical of you for not being as open as he was, for not being the mouthy rebel you were back in high school. For not having a goddamn blue man bun.”

Alex is uncertain how to respond. Kyle has barely spoken of Forest since their breakup in the summer. Alex had assumed it was because that was around the same time Steph dumped him, and he was avoiding the topic of broken hearts altogether.

“Kyle, did you not like Forest?”

Kyle barks out a laugh and shakes his head, as if Alex had made a joke. When Alex just frowns, Kyle responds, “Oh, come on, Alex. You have to know. The guy was insufferable!” Alex raises an eyebrow in response, and Kyle fumbles through his next words. “His whole vibe was just- Ugh. He thought he was _so_ edgy. It was exhausting, like he thought he was better than everyone in Roswell.” 

“Wow. I think I’m seeing shades of mean high school Kyle.” Alex is bemused.

“You’re not! I just didn’t like the guy.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were jealous.” Alex chuckles and turns away, not noticing Kyle sharply jerking his head to look at his retreating form, panic on his face. He relaxes his expression as Alex takes a seat on the couch and glances over at him. “But I _do_ know better, so you’re clearly just upset that you briefly had competition for the hottest bachelor in town.”

Kyle rolls his eyes at that and saunters over to take a seat on the other end of the couch. "What, you don't consider Guerin my competition?" 

Alex quirked his eyebrows at him. "Do _you_?" 

“Do I- Wha-! Of course not. What? I don’t think Guerin and I are in competition. For anything.”

It’s Alex’s turn to roll his eyes. “You’re acting weird, Valenti.” He turns towards the fireplace and freezes for a moment before sighing heavily. “I forgot to bring in the firewood.”

Kyle takes note of the tension now locking Alex’s shoulders in place. “It’s okay. I’ll go out and get it.”

“No, Kyle, it’s f-”

“It’s fine, Alex. I’m just gonna go to the bathroom first.” Kyle sets his beer and phone down on the coffee table and lopes back towards the hallway.

Alex didn't mean to. Really. It's just Kyle left his phone screen facing upwards right in front of him. As soon as he disappears from view, the screen lights up with an incoming text message. Alex is feeling loose and just a little bit hazy from downing an entire beer in minutes while overtired and his eyes immediately zero in on the message before he thinks it through. 

He does a double take once he reads it. _That can't be right._

From Jenna C: _this is your golden opportunity to say you wanna get dicked down by him. valenti, be a man and get dicked down by your hot af childhood bff!!!_

A moment goes by before another notification appears. This time it's a series of emojis, including far too many eggplants. 

Then, a third message. 

From Jenna C: _god i can't wait to gossip with manes about what a good sub you are_

Alex feels his own eyes widen in shock and gulps. _What the fuck? Is that a mistake? Maybe she sent it to the wrong person._ Another voice in his head cut into his frantic panicking by reminding him she used both his and Kyle’s names. And she wrote as if this were a topic she and Kyle have discussed before. _Maybe it’s just Jenna being Jenna. Their entire_ thing _is mocking each other. Maybe it’s just one of their sex games._ They tried their best to keep it under wraps, but when Alex walked in on a particularly enthusiastic bunker sex session between them involving handcuffs, they finally confessed to their friends with benefits arrangement. But Kyle had informed him a month ago they’d since ended it, offering only a vague explanation about them both realizing they wanted different things. 

_Wanted different things_. Those things definitely couldn’t include something other than heterosexuality. Kyle Valenti is the _epitome_ of a benign hetero frat bro, at least nowadays. Right? Alex furrows his eyebrows at what he suddenly finds himself contemplating.

He stares down until the phone screen goes black, his brain short-circuiting into total blankness. He hears the bathroom door open and jumps to his feet, pacing in front of the fireplace when Kyle reappears.

Alex doesn’t say anything as Kyle gets his coat on and zips it straight to his throat. Kyle gives him a curious look, likely because he won’t stop pacing, but shakes his head in amusement and heads out the front door. 

After a few minutes, he stumbles back in, dragging flurrying snow with him. Alex rushes to close the door behind him, as a gust of wind blows through the cabin. He hears Kyle drop the pile of firewood in front of the fireplace and turns just in time to see him shed his coat, then fall to the couch shivering, rubbing his hands up and down his own arms. Alex feels a momentary urge to go warm his friend up himself; strip off his clothes and press his body against his. He imagines Kyle's shivers slowly subsiding until his body relaxes enough that he would reach out to graze Alex's skin with his fingertips-

 _What the fuck?_ Alex gives his head a shake and instead sets to work starting the fire. A much more appropriate manner of helping Kyle warm up, surely. 

“It’s way colder than I realized.” Kyle laughs before picking up his beer to finish it off.

“Well, it’ll warm up soon.” Alex offers lightly, barely glancing back at his friend who has wrapped himself up in a blanket and picked up his phone to check his messages, happily munching on the snacks he’d laid out for them.

Once the fire is lit, Alex finds himself awkwardly remaining on his knees by the fireplace, hesitantly glancing sideways at Kyle, his sock feet up on the coffee table, flicking through movie options on the TV Alex had installed once Kyle started sleeping on the couch a few nights a week. 

“Hey, should we watch something Christmas-y? November isn’t too early for Christmas movies, no matter what Liz claims.” When Alex doesn’t respond, Kyle tears his eyes away from the screen to look at him, hunched over on the floor. He frowns. “Hey, is your leg bothering you? You’re probably feeling stiff from the cold, aren’t you? Here, let me go grab your crutch from your room while you take it off.” Kyle is up and off before Alex can protest. 

Alex tries to yell something sarcastic after him, but unfortunately, Kyle is right. His _is_ a little stiff and it would be nice to be able to just leave his prosthetic off for the rest of the night. It’s not something he does often with Kyle around - he usually saves that for after Kyle has fallen asleep on the couch, so he can be sure he doesn’t walk in on his nighttime routine of washing and moisturizing his stump before cleaning his sock in the bathroom sink. 

He has settled on the couch when Kyle returns with his crutch, moisturizer, a clean stump sock and a pair of sweatpants. He leans the crutch against the side of the couch within reach and tosses the rest on the couch beside Alex. “I’m gonna heat up some of that leftover pasta in the fridge.” He briefly lays a hand on Alex’s shoulder before turning around to busy himself in the kitchen.

Alex stares after him, knowing what he’s doing. Kyle knows Alex isn’t comfortable being so exposed. Michael and Forest are the only people he’s ever allowed to touch him without his prosthetic on. 

Jenna’s text messages flash through his mind and in an uncharacteristic move, he impulsively calls out, “Kyle? Could you maybe help me?”

His friend spins around at the sound of his voice, practically dropping the container of pasta he is shoving into the microwave. “Of course! What do you need?”

Alex jerks his head, indicating for him to come over. Kyle hesitates, a strange expression on his face, but he comes and stands in front of Alex. 

“You were right, I’m pretty sore. I think maybe I’ve kept it on too long today. I think it might be a bit irritated.” As he talks, he lifts his hips and loosens his jeans. As he starts tugging them down his thighs, he glances up at Kyle through his eyelashes and sees that he’s averted his eyes. He has actually shoved his hands into his pockets and seems to be studying the floor. Plunging straight into his own spontaneous and probably stupid decision, he continues, “I’m hoping you could take a look at the stump. Make sure I haven’t done too much damage by avoiding the doctor at all costs.” 

Still watching the carpet, Kyle nods stiffly. “Yeah, sure. Of course. Whatever you need, man.”

“Kyle. Hey, Kyle. Look at me.” Alex is now sitting in his boxer briefs on the couch, his good leg quickly erupting in gooseflesh. 

Kyle lifts his head to look Alex in the eye. “Are you feeling okay, Alex? I’m happy to help with whatever you need, it’s just- you don’t usually ask for things like this.”

“I know. I guess I just- you know that high school is behind us, right?” Kyle frowns at that, clearly unsure where this is going. “I trust you. Hell, you’re one of the _only_ people I trust these days. I know I’m, uh, difficult sometimes. I know I’m not the easiest person to be around when I compartmentalize everything. But I just want to make sure you know that.”

The way Kyle looks at him when he breaks off his speech confirms what he should have seen a long time ago - those messages aren’t just about wanting to give sex with a guy a try. Kyle has _feelings_ for him. 

Now that Alex knows what to look for, he can see Kyle practically has hearts in his eyes as he gets down on his knees in front of him to carefully reach for the prosthetic, giving Alex time to do it himself if he prefers. 

He doesn’t stop his best friend as he releases the pin and pulls the leg off. Setting the liner aside, he gingerly inspects his stump, noting some redness. Alex hands him the moisturizer and nods his head for Kyle to go ahead and start applying it. Kyle hesitates for only a second, clearly wanting to ask further questions, but instead he dutifully does as Alex has silently requested of him.

Alex watches his face throughout the process. There’s a tenderness in his eyes that he realizes he’s never seen before. Has he just not been paying attention? How long has Kyle felt this way?

 _And more importantly, how do_ I _feel?_ His line of thought is cut off when Kyle kneads into just the right spot and Alex involuntarily lets out a long drawn-out moan, his head falling back as he clutches fistfuls of the couch in both hands. He feels Kyle’s hands freeze at the sound, and he soon does the same.

“Uh, sorry. I know that sounded a little, um-”

“Sexual?” Kyle offers, an amused lilt to his voice. They lock eyes and both allow themselves to laugh off the awkwardness of the moment. 

Kyle finishes up quickly, pulling on the clean sock over his stump and handing him the sweatpants. He holds his hands out as if to reach for Alex but seems to change his mind and instead, he gets to his feet and returns to fetch their food, along with a bottle of bourbon and two glasses, while Alex pulls on his pants and burrows under the blankets on the couch. 

Neither of them talk about the strange intimacy Alex just invited into their relationship for the first time. Instead, they settle on the couch, Kyle giving Alex a wide berth by melting into the opposite end. He quickly chooses a Christmas movie on Netflix at random and presses play. 

But as the wind whistles and the snow falls faster outside the cabin’s windows, Alex can’t concentrate on the stilted Hallmark-quality acting and bizarre plot twists. Now that he is entertaining the idea of his own feelings for his former high school bully and most trusted friend, he finds himself consumed with questions. He can _feel_ the inches of space between their bodies underneath their separate blankets and can’t help but wonder what it would feel like to share one instead. Onscreen, the two love interests are also curled up in front of a crackling fire inside a cabin while snow falls outside. The blonde journalist who lied her way into the castle for a story asks where they are; the prince responds that it’s his father’s old hunting cabin. 

At that line, Kyle turns towards him with a gleaming grin lighting up his face. Alex can’t help but roll his eyes and smile back at the pure corniness of his best friend. He allows his eyes to drift down to Kyle’s lips while his gaze remains on him. 

With only a brief moment’s hesitation, Alex inches his way over, closing the space between them, adjusting the blankets to cover them both and, without another word, leans his head on Kyle’s shoulder.

The moment that follows lasts forever. Kyle’s entire body stiffens and Alex can feel his heavy breathing on the top of his head. Alex only burrows his body in closer to Kyle’s, making himself comfortable. In the excruciating silence, Kyle makes a decision.

He puts his arm around Alex. He squeezes his fingers into his friend’s shoulder and adjusts his body to allow them both to comfortably lay against one another. 

They finish the movie like this. Sometimes Alex can feel Kyle flexing his hand against his shoulder. Everytime he does, he squeezes him just a little tighter. After one of these instances, Alex allows himself to pull his own arm from where it’s been awkwardly clutched at his side and drop it against Kyle’s chest. He can feel Kyle’s breath hitch as his head shifts toward him, but Alex stubbornly keeps his head tucked in and his face towards the TV screen. He feels what has to be Kyle’s lips lightly press against his hair, so brief he might simply be imagining it. 

As the credits start rolling, neither of them move. Alex almost wishes he was tired so he could allow himself to fall asleep against Kyle and they could avoid discussing what has shifted between them until the morning. 

But touching and being touched has him too wired to sleep. And even though he knows he’s notoriously bad with words, he will regret it if he doesn’t at least _try_ to have a conversation before making the move he now realizes he wants to make.

So he takes a deep breath and, leaning some of his weight on the hand pressed against Kyle’s quickening heartbeat, he pulls himself upright and shifts his body to comfortably face his friend with only inches between their faces. “Kyle, why did you and Jenna stop sleeping together?” 

Kyle’s jaw drops, obviously taken aback by the question. He starts to sputter out an answer: “I, uh- why? We’re just, better as, you know, friends. I told you, we just- we wanted different things-” In the middle of his speech, Kyle retracts his arm from around Alex’s shoulder but Alex grabs his hand in his own before he can go far. 

Keeping one hand pressed into his chest and squeezing Kyle’s hand with the other, Alex locks his friend into an intense gaze and asks in a husky voice, “What were the different things you wanted, Kyle?”

“I, I, well.. There are just some, uh, things I thought I’d explore… Goddammit, Alex, stop looking at me like that! I can’t think when you do that.” 

“When I do what?” Alex’s gaze is steady. Confident. He doesn’t look away, even as Kyle tries to squirm away from the heaviness of his eyes on him. 

“When you lick your lips like that! You’re always doing that and you just- you have no idea what it does to me.”

“Don’t I?” He allows a careful smirk to spread across his face as Kyle shakes his head in exasperation and tries to pull himself from his position where he is slumped against the couch. He is essentially pinned between Alex’s body and the side of the couch, one hand clutched firmly in Alex’s. 

“Alex.” His voice is practically a whine as Kyle cocks his head and glances down at his lips. “We shouldn’t do this.”

Alex tilts his head a little closer to Kyle’s, spreading his palm out across his chest and pressing. “Why not?”

“Because.. Because I really like you. I don’t want to just be something casual, something convenient and easy, before you go back to Michael.”

Alex jerks back as if hit, dropping his hands as he stares back at Kyle, who is pursing his lips, defiant. Stubborn. Standing his ground. 

Alex stares at him for a few moments before he sees the flash of vulnerability behind Kyle’s eyes and he softens.

“Kyle, nothing about us could ever be casual or convenient. Not with our history. Not with what we’ve been through together.” He places a hand tentatively on Kyle’s forearm and squeezes gently. “You’ve been in my life long before Michael. I would never jeopardize our friendship for something that isn’t real. I _promise_ this is real.” Alex leans in again, his eyes roaming over Kyle’s face. 

Kyle licks his lips and pushes himself off the couch. As they hover with only an inch of space between their lips, Kyle whispers, “I promise too,” and presses his soft mouth to Alex’s, bringing his hands to his neck, thumbs sweetly massaging along his jaw.

Alex responds by enthusiastically pushing Kyle back against the couch and climbing into his lap. His tongue slips past Kyle’s lips and he presses his hips down fiercely while his hands get lost in his best friend’s hair. 

They remain locked together at the lips for a long few minutes, hungrily caught up in one another. Kyle’s arms are gripping his waist as Alex sucks at his neck when Kyle breathlessly says in a low tone, “Hold on, hold on.. Alex, babe.” He taps at his waist to get his attention.

Alex’s eyes are glittering in the firelight when he pulls back and very playfully responds, “Yes, _babe?_ ” 

Kyle chuckles, silently noting to continue calling Alex babe just for the reaction. “We’re alone in a cabin in the woods. We’re snowed in. Shouldn’t we drag these blankets down in front of the fireplace and make out there for awhile? I mean, it’s a classic scenario. We’d really be failing ourselves, and the makers of bad Christmas movies everywhere, if we didn’t.” Kyle’s eyes are earnest looking up at Alex, while his expression is devious. 

Alex’s smile snakes across his face in pure delight. He runs his fingertips down Kyle’s bare arms until he interlaces their fingers together and drops a kiss to Kyle’s nose. “You’re gonna be the corniest, most romantic boyfriend ever, aren’t you?”

“100 percent, yes. I promise.” 

He smiles broadly as Alex takes his jaw in his hand and tilts Kyle’s head up to offer a gentle kiss. “And I promise to constantly complain about it, but secretly revel in it.”

They giggle into each others’ mouths as they meet in another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Kyle and Alex are watching the iconic terrible/loveable A Christmas Prince movie on Netflix.


End file.
